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I-10 eastbound lanes to close in Metairie starting Thursday night

I-10 eastbound lanes will be closing in Metairie starting Thursday night, as work crews plan to remove overhead signs. The closures will affect lanes between Clearview Parkway and Veterans Memorial Boulevard.
(Photo by Michael DeMocker, The Times-Picayune)

Interstate 10 eastbound in a section of Metairie will see night-time lane closures starting Thursday and through Saturday morning, as crews plan to remove overhead signage. The work, between Clearview Parkway and Veterans Memorial Boulevard, will at times close two of the three highway lanes and force a short shutdown of all eastbound lanes early Friday morning.

The work is part of a $42 million project to widen I-10 in both directions between Clearview and Veterans. The project is adding two lanes in each direction and installing sound walls along the highway.

The first closure is set to begin at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, when crews will block the left eastbound lane at Clearview. By 11:45 p.m. crews are expected to also close the center lane. That will be followed by the closure of the final highway lane at 1:45 a.m. Friday, for what officials called a 15-minute shut down of the eastbound highway. All eastbound lanes are set to reopen at 2 a.m. Friday.

The closures would resume after midnight on Saturday, though officials warned the schedule could change depending on weather.

About 160,000 vehicles cross that section of the interstate in both directions every day, according to highway officials.

Project spokesman Mike Sasser said work to remove overhead signs on the westbound lanes is not planed until 2013, as project managers want to avoid major traffic disruptions during the holidays.

Work on this section of I-10 began at the start of this year and it's expected to be completed by the end of 2013. Crews have already replaced some of the old drainage underground and are now working on adding roadway in the median. Sasser said that phase is to be done by spring, at which time traffic lanes will shift to the new section of highway to make room for construction of the new outside lanes.

At the same time, crews have placed the foundation for new soundwalls on both sides of the road. The soundwall work is expected to go on for the remaining of the project, Sasser said.

Here's the full schedule of eastbound lane closures between Clearview and Veterans: